In a known sliding interior sunroof panel assembly, which is shown in German Patent No 35 27 839 C1, the ventilation strip has a groove at its front and rear edges that form latch connections in conjunction with the corresponding edges of the opening. Here the edges of the opening engage in a latching manner along their entire length with the two grooves. However, it has become clear that the latching engagement is difficult to achieve during assembly, particularly since latching has to be produced along the entire length of the opening and the ventilation strip. Moreover, undesirable undulating or wave-like deformations appeared on the ventilation strip, these being explained in further detail below.
In a known example of such a panel assembly, the rear end only of the ventilation strip was pressed onto the corresponding edge of the opening, while the front end of the ventilation strip was connected to the interior roof panel by means of a series of thermo-rivets, spaced relative to one another and formed from the material of the ventilation strip. While this made mounting the ventilation strip onto the interior roof panel easier, undesirable undulating deformations still occurred on the ventilation strip, caused by the differing coefficients of thermal expansion of the different plastic materials used for the ventilation strip on the one hand and the interior roof panel on the other.
For various reasons, the use of plastics with coinciding coefficients of thermal expansion is not possible, in particular because the interior roof panel may be relatively thick-walled and reinforced with fiberglass and intermediate metal ply. It is not important to create a homogenous appearance of the surfaces because the lower visible surface of the interior roof panel is, in any case, to be covered with the interior lining material. In contrast, the non-reinforced plastic used for the injection molding of the ventilation strip has a relatively thin-walled structure. The upper surfaces of the ventilation strips, a considerable area of which is visible and is not covered, must be given a homogenous appearance.